OAKLAND – The question left Stephen Curry pondering for almost 12 seconds. Did he like anything about the Warriors’ loss to Toronto?

“Not really,” Curry said.

Part of the reason for Curry’s harsh assessment? The Warriors also showed delayed reactions on defense. Not to the extent taking 12 seconds to respond. But the Warriors reacted slowly enough to allow the Raptors to score 58 points in the paint.

The Warriors are not publicly wondering if the Raptors could beat them should they meet in the NBA Finals after sweeping the two-game regular-season series. The Warriors, however, have pinpointed one specific area that has left holes in their championship foundation.

The Warriors (19-10) enter Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings (15-12) ranked 16th out of 30 NBA teams in defensive rating (108.7), the average number of possessions they have allowed their opponent each game. That pales to when the Warriors ranked eighth in 2017-18 (104.2), second in 2016-17 (101.1), fourth in 2015-16 (100.9) and first in 2014-15 (98.2).

Warriors coach Steve Kerr pointed those “the numbers are all skewed” because of the league-wide implosion of prolific offenses. Yet, he conceded those steady defensive decreases partly reflect the Warriors’ cumulative toll from their Finals runs.

“It’s easier to do that more often when you’re on the climb and you haven’t won,” Kerr said. “It’s harder to do when you’ve won a few championships and it’s early December and you’re feeling the effects of all of that. That’s not an excuse. It’s reality.”

The Warriors recognize another reality. The reasons for the Warriors’ inconsistent defense does not solely hinge on All-Star forward Draymond Green missing 13 of 15 games because of a sore right toe in his right foot.

Yes, the Warriors fared better defensively in their first 11 games before Green’s injury. Then, the Warriors ranked 10th in defensive rating (106.3), eighth in defensive field-goal percentage (44 percent), tied for seventh in second-chance points allowed (11.6), 12th in fast-break points allowed (12.7) and seventh in points in the paint allowed (44.4). When Green was either sidelined or limited for 15 games, the Warriors fared 18th in defensive rating (108.8), 21st in second-chance points allowed (14.1), 20th in fast-break points allowed (14.1) and 18th in points in the paint allowed (49.4).

But as the Warriors showed in Thursday’s loss to Toronto, Green’s presence does not always solve their defensive ailments. He became plagued with two fouls in less than four minutes into the game.

“To play great defense in the NBA, especially these days with the spacing and amount of court you have to cover, it’s a five-man game,” Kerr said. Every possession takes five guys being on the same page. All it takes is one guy being out of position. And now you’re compromised. When we’ve been right, engaged and dialed in, we have five guys flying around. We’re supporting each other, protecting penetration and boxing out. We’re really good. We just haven’t had it enough.”

As a result, the Warriors have ranked 12th in defensive field-goal percentage (45 percent), a decrease from their third-place ranking in 2017-18 (44.7 percent), first-place finish in 2016-17 (43.5 percent), another third-place ranking in 2015-16 (43.5 percent) and another first-place finish in 2014-15 (42.8 percent). The Warriors have shown improvement, though, by ranking fifth in perimeter defense (32.6 percent) after finishing 10th last season (35.7 percent).

“A lot of that is on us as players to have the right attitude and presence out there on the floor,” Curry said. “We have an opportunity to impact the game on that end, taking it and having some pride on that side of the floor. “We have to understand we’re not just going to be able to outscore people every night. We have to take out individual matchups and challenges and have some dog in us. All of that type of stuff, on a nightly basis, whether you have the complete gas tank full and the energy, that’s the little stuff you can do to get you over the hump.”

In other words, Curry was not about to pinpoint the Warriors’ recent defensive shortcomings to veteran forward Andre Iguodala missing his second consecutive game because of right hip tightness.

“He would’ve definitely helped if he was in the game and healthy. But that’s not the reason why we lost and played that bad. We didn’t execute,” Curry said. “Even Andre with his cape and his super hero hat on, he wouldn’t have been able to help us in that situation.”

Kerr respectfully declined to reveal where he wants the Warriors to rank this season in defensive ratings. For an organization that thrives on using analytics, Kerr said he mostly measures “feel” in evaluating the Warriors’ defense.

He pointed to the Warriors’ win last week to Milwaukee, when they avenged a previous 23-point loss to the Bucks. Then, the Warriors limited Milwaukee to 39.1 percent shooting from the field and 17.9 percent from 3-point range. The Warriors also forced 18 turnovers. That all happened despite Green sitting on the sideline.

“Let’s have more of that. That was a feeling of embarrassment from the previous game when we played the Bucks,” Kerr said. “We were flying around and everybody was engaged and competitive. But again, it takes tremendous focus and energy. We haven’t had that very often this year.”

The reasons go beyond handling regular-season apathy. While the Warriors have nursed too much of a championship hangover at times too care, they are actually too inexperienced with their personnel to execute.

The Warriors outlined bigger roles for third-year center Damian Jones, second-year forward Jordan Bell, fourth-year forward Kevon Looney and fourth-year guard Quinn Cook in hopes to accelerate their development. Though the Warriors believe they will eventually benefit from the investment, Jones and Bell often struggled with foul trouble. Amid overlapping injuries to notably to Curry (11 games) and Green (13), the Warriors fielded 10 different starting lineups. That only increased the likelihood of the Warriors having a missed defensive assignment.

“Some of these conversations are great when you are not playing your best basketball at 19-10 and have opportunities to get better,” Curry said. “You have to keep the right perspective in terms of the big picture. It’s not all bad. We understand the level we hold ourselves to. We haven’t gotten there yet consistently.”

To get there consistently, the Warriors believe good old fashioned hard work will help instead.

“That’s our job this year and the players know that,” Kerr said. “We have to continue to build and grow internally. There’s got to be a level of discipline and execution we haven’t reached yet.”